Less than three days after Napster founder Shawn Fanning and CEO Konrad Hilbers said they were leaving the project for good, along comes Bertelsmann with an offer they couldn't refuse:

Buy Napster for $8 million; clear out the company's debt and hire back most of the key players.

In addition to resuming his duties as CEO, Hilbers will also chair Napster's board of directors.

"I have believed from the start that this deal was a valid and beneficial deal for Napster, the best direction for the company under the current circumstances. While this has been a very unusual week, I'm pleased that I and my colleagues can move forward and give our full attention to Napster's future," said Hilbers.

"Bertelsmann understood our vision when they first invested in us. They still believe in that vision," said Shawn Fanning. "I'm ready to work with the many talented people at Napster to complete the new service and get it off the ground."

The once bad-boy of music file sharing with millions of users behind it at the height of its popularity, has been offline since July.